Don't Super Size Me!

I was introduced to the wonderful world of dieting when I was about 16 years old. Being able to drive and date and go out to eat with my friends whenever we had the money was a newfound freedom which caused me to gain some weight. I went on a diet and lost 15 pounds. If only I had known then to be smart enough to never let myself gain weight again, life would have been much easier, but unfortunately you don’t get much wisdom except through experience. So I did not learn my lesson at 16.


When I was about 20, I had to lose 15 pounds again. At 25 I had to lose about 20 pounds. At 30 I had to lose another 20. So if you are doing your math correctly, you will see that, by the time I lost 60 pounds in my forties, I had lost enough weight to make a person who weighed what I weigh today.

Luckily I seem to finally have learned my lesson and have been able to keep the weight off. I believe that it is because I finally figured out that I should never be on a diet. Instead I should be making healthy choices when I eat, and making sure to spend enough time at the gym.

If you are anything like I used to be, you have a closet full of clothes in a variety of sizes. In the past, when I would go on a diet, I would still keep all my old clothes, “just in case.” I was always worried that if my husband ever took it into his head to take me on a surprise vacation somewhere and packed my suitcase for me, we would get there and nothing in the suitcase would fit.

This time, as the weight came off, I bagged up the clothes as they became too big and took them to Goodwill. I bought a few inexpensive things on the clearance rack at Target to keep me properly clothed while I continued to lose. Now there is nothing in my closet that is too big “just in case” I regain any weight. Mentally that somehow helps me. I have made a promise to myself never to buy clothes in a bigger size than the one I wear right now.

So now my husband can take me on all the surprise vacations he wants. Are you reading, dear?